Pleads Guilty: Pentagon Leaker Jack Teixeir Could Get 16 Years

Well, folks, the Air National Guardsman that leaked classified documents is just about to swap out his uniform for prison attire.

This Monday in court, Jack Teixeira, pleaded guilty to sharing highly classified documents online that pertained to the Ukraine war.

At first he was using the Discord app to share digital files but later switched to printing them out and taking photos of them, then uploading those photos so he wouldn’t get caught.

Clearly this tactic didn’t work.

Jack Teixeira Pleads Guilty for Leaking Pentagon Documents, Faces Up To 16 Years in Prison
The #Discord leaks revealed the US was lying about Ukraine's chances of success in last year's counteroffensive
by Dave DeCamp@DecampDave #Ukraine #JackTeixeira https://t.co/yR0TEsBy9A pic.twitter.com/zmz4ii8OOS

— Antiwar.com (@Antiwarcom) March 4, 2024

The Washington Examiner reports:

Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking hundreds of classified Department of Defense documents, has agreed to a plea deal that could have him spend the next 16 years in prison.

Teixeira was in court on Monday and pleaded guilty as laid out in the deal, according to court documents.

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He “callously disregarded the national security of the United States, and he betrayed his solemn oath to defend the country and the trust of the American people that he swore to protect. Being entrusted with the security clearance carries the responsibility to be a good steward of our nation’s most sensitive information,” said Matt Olsen, the assistant attorney general for national security at the Department of Justice. “And whether someone embodies this duty by handing classified information directly to a foreign adversary, or by willfully posting such information online for all to see, the national security consequences are severe.”

He pleaded guilty to all six counts charging him with willful retention and transmission of national defense information, and in exchange, prosecutors agreed not to charge him with additional counts under the Espionage Act.

The terms of the plea deal say he will face a sentence of between 132 and 200 months, or 11 to more than 16 years, a fine of $50,000, and 36 months of supervised release. Prosecutors intend to recommend he be sentenced to 200 months in prison.

He originally pleaded not guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information last June, but prosecutors recently asked for a Rule 11 hearing, which are proceedings to discuss a change in plea.

Teixeira was arrested on April 13 following a manhunt for the leaker and has remained behind bars.

He has been accused of leaking hundreds of documents via the Discord app over several months spanning from 2022-2023. Some of the classified documents he allegedly shared pertained to the war in Ukraine. At first, he began taking notes on classified intelligence to share with his friends on the platform, but he stopped when he got concerned others were on to him. He then decided to print it out, take it home, photograph it there, and post those photos online.

Jack Teixeira, a 22-year-old former member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, pleaded guilty to leaking hundreds of highly classified military documents online. He could serve up to 16 years in prison. pic.twitter.com/fLmmNyLEi8

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) March 5, 2024

BREAKING: Fmr Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira has signed a plea agreement calling for prosecutors to recommend a 16 year prison sentence, $50k in fines, and 3 years of supervised release for pleading guilty to all 6 counts of his indictment. pic.twitter.com/feV6rPIOKy

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 4, 2024

There a lot of people in the comments stating the government is going after him hard because he exposed their narrative on the Ukraine war:

The reason they are going so hard after him is that he pierced their narrative that Ukraine is doing well in this war. They are not.

— Tier2PowerGod (@Tier2_Power_God) March 4, 2024